Phantom of the Opera returns to the Peace Center

by Justin Hinton

The Phantom of the Opera (Photo courtesy: Matthew Murphy)

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WLOS) — Celebrating 30 years on Broadway, the national tour of the Phantom of the Opera makes its triumphant return to the Peace Center, hailed by critics as "bigger and better than ever before."

"It's a little more human, so the phantom isn't necessarily a magician who has powers over Christine and other people as much as he is just an engineer who is sort of not able to get his point across in a civil way," said Quentin Oliver Lee who plays the title role.

Though different, Lee says it still has the beautiful costumes, the unforgettable music which is played by 17 orchestra members and the chandelier.

"This chandelier only plays in this production that you're currently seeing," said Stage Manager Mitch Hodges. "Nothing comes off of it. It's fully one piece. It rolls out on a big cage and it goes straight up in the air."

He says it weighs a ton, has more than 30,000 beads with three different departments taking care of it during its journey across America.

"The biggest challenge being where it hangs in every city because every city you go into is a little different," said Hodges.